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DSA mayors surge
In Washington, D.C., Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for mayor after telling voters, "People are tired of hearing what government can’t do. They want to hear what government can do," and she positioned herself to win the general election in November in a city dominated by Democrats.
“People are tired of hearing what government can’t do. They want to hear what government can do,”
The AP reported that Lewis George’s victory put her in the vanguard of democratic socialists who have ascended in urban politics over the last year, with Zohran Mamdani, Katie Wilson, and Nithya Raman also tied to the Democratic Socialists of America.
The AP said DSA membership ranks swelled from a few thousand to more than 100,000 nationwide over the last decade after an influx of younger Americans joined following the presidential bids of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, also a self-described democratic socialist.
CNN said Lewis George’s win came after 12 years of the more business-friendly administration of Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser, and it described her campaign as running broadly on addressing affordability issues like housing and childcare.
CNN also reported that Mamdani is trying to extend his influence in New York City by backing democratic socialists in two US House primaries on Tuesday, including a high-profile test between Rep. Adriano Espaillat and the mayor’s endorsed candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier.
Coalitions and pushback
On the night of the Democratic primary, CNN reported that Lewis George pushed back on doubts about who supported her by saying, "Over the past year, we assembled the most diverse coalition in this city’s history," and she described a base that included organizers, environmentalists, nurses, transit and federal workers and janitors.
CNN also quoted Lewis George saying, "We are Democrats, independents," and "And democratic socialists," as she framed her coalition in the nation’s capital.
Matt Bennett, the executive vice president for public affairs at Third Way, cautioned on CNN that the danger for Democrats is that the party over-interprets what is happening in these races, saying, "The danger for Democrats is that the party massively over-interprets what is happening in these races."
CNN reported that moderate Democrats argue the far left’s successes are limited to the bluest parts of the country and that their policies don’t resonate in Republican-leaning or swing districts.
In the same CNN report, Ashik Siddique, the DSA’s national political committee co-chair, told the network that DSA’s electoral theory of change is about building the bench at the lowest levels of office, saying, "DSA’s electoral theory of change is really about starting from building the bench at the lowest levels of office."
What comes next
The AP said the political organization’s surge is unfolding with little sign of national coordination among the candidates and that it’s unclear whether voters are gravitating toward improved government services, vows to fight the Trump administration, or critiques of capitalism.
“Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis”
The AP also reported that Trump told reporters this month, "Maybe we take back Washington and run it on a federal basis," and added, "We won’t put up with it," when asked about the potential election of a democratic socialist as the district’s mayor.
CNN reported that Mamdani is rallying with his slate of primary candidates and ripped the Democratic Party as stuck in an "old way of thinking" that would lose future elections, saying, "Frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire."
CNN said Aparna Raj argued Democrats must offer a forward-looking message, telling CNN, "If we are going to provide a positive vision, and a positive alternative, in comparison to Trump and authoritarianism, we have to actually provide a positive thing for people to vote for," and she added, "And that is people seeing that elected officials care about working people."
In Washington, D.C., CNN reported that Lewis George’s victory followed 12 years under Muriel Bowser and that her win marked the latest electoral success for candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and the far left, running on affordability issues like housing and childcare.
